The invention relates to an overhead cable transport installation, especially a gondola lift or a chair lift, running continuously in a closed circuit between a starting station and an arrival station. Loads, such as gondolas, cabins or chairs, supported by carriages, are coupled with the cable on the circuit and de-coupled or released from the travelling cable at the stations. The carriages travel through the station on a half-loop circuit linking the up and down tracks before being reattached to the cable as they leave the station. The travelling circuit for the loads in the station comprises a deceleration section, having carriage braking means, a disembarking and/or embarking section or sections and an acceleration section, having drive means to increase the travel velocity of the loads. Further there are provided conveyors for driving the carriages along this half-loop circuit and the equipment of such a station is quite complicated and expensive. Overhead cable transport installations of this type have a high conveying capacity, due to the large number of loads continuously running on the closed circuit. Such installations, for instance, are described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,361, and are well known.
In the case of overhead cable transport installations having an arrival station at a much higher level, such as at the top of a mountain, than the starting station, such as at the base of the mountain, and having a high carrying capacity, the tension forces in the cable may become excessive. These forces may result in the necessity of using a cable having a relatively large diameter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an overhead cable transport installation which will utilize a cable having a diameter within a desirable range for economical operation.
Another object is to provide an installation having a high transport capacity and a high regular travel velocity of the loads along the whole track.